Sorry for the long wait before this update.... hope you like this chapter.

"June you brought this all on yourself!" her mother was still angry with her.

"This is not the time to finger point dear, we need to resolve this situation between the two of them!" her father stated diplomatically.

"I can't believe he would go so far!" May voiced. "Talk about venting his wrath!"

"Anger can make anyone do irrational things." April added.

They had all gathered at June's home for a family meeting on the way forward. April had made an appointment with one of the solicitors at her firm. They were awaiting his arrival.

"June have some chamomile tea." Her mother offered her. She shook her head, she had barely slept and she had no appetite.

"J please eat; you need to keep up your strength," April cajoled her. June shook her head again. Her mouth felt like cotton and her throat was constricted. The thought of food made her feel nauseous.

The doorbell rang and April volunteered to answer the door.

"This is Liam Watson." A tall handsome blond man came into view. He appeared to be in his early 40s. He was clean shaven and reminded her of the DA from one of those TV detective dramas.

"Please to meet you all." He shook their hands and he was guided to seat on the sofa.

"April has given me a summary of the situation and I have done some research." Liam was opening his attaché case and removing some files.

"Kanaredes is a huge corporation with a lot of influence in Europe to defeat him in the courts will be difficult." Liam stated something they all knew.

"I knew it!" her mother moaned. "I won't see my grandson again."

"However, there is chance we can appeal to a judge about your son's fragile state and that his chance of recovery would be increased by the interaction with his mother and family who he only knows. The inclusion of his father who is a stranger can cause him to relapse." Liam's words were not reassuring and June's heart just closed.

She burst into tears and May enveloped her into her arms.

Dmitri stood watching his son through the glass window in the adjoining room. The doctors had told him that Zack had a rare blood disorder and that he would need a bone marrow transplant. His son's little body was hooked up to many different coloured wires. He appeared stable at the moment but it was vital that he get a marrow donor before his blood poisoned him.

'Eat something Dmitri.' His mother's voice cajoled him. He turned to her voice. She had some food on a table.

'Mom, I'm not hungry.' He responded turning back to look at his son. He felt his mother's hands on his arm dragging him to sit at the table. He acquiesced.

'You need your strength, now have some warm tea.' His mother was adamant and he never defied his mother; so he sipped the tea slowly although his mouth had no taste for food.

' So what have the doctors told you about his condition?' his mother asked worriedly.

'They need to test as many family members as possible to see if they can get a bone marrow match.' He replied finishing his cup of tea.

"So when am I going to meet Zack's mother?" 

Dmitri stood up. He had not told his mother about June fully. She had been ecstatic to know that she had another grandchild and had flown immediately from Sicily to be with him.

"Dmitri?" his mother came to him, "I know something is going on? You are my son and I know how stubborn you can be, so where is the mother? She must be worried for her son?" Dmitri turned away from his mother. He was still very angry with June for keeping Zack away from him.

"Well, she isn't here." He said not committing to say anything else.

"So did she just give you your son and run off when he was sick?" his mother was pushing and he did not want to go there.

"Not really." He said looking at his son through the glass again. He refused to think of June right now, if he did maybe he would be sympathetic but he was too furious to let himself think of her.

"Demetrious! I want the truth now!" his mother said firmly. He turned around slowly, his mother was a force to reckon with and he had no choice but to obey her.

"I took my son from her, she does not know where Zack is." He said quietly watching his mother's face change from disbelief then to anger.

"You took this precious boy away? Now tell me Dmitri was this woman evil? Did she want money? Was she abusing him?" his mother was prodding and he hated it. He ruffled his hair and started to pace.

"No." was all he said as he slumped against the chair. This was painful.

"I want to know it all." his mother's firm voice was a rod of discipline he had adhered to from a young child.

He told her everything and by the end of it all his mother stood up and looked at him firmly.

"As your mother I can only imagine the pain you must be feeling but to take her son away like you did is wrong. I know you are a ruthless business man but son how could you? We lost your father so young and it still hurts how could you even do that? You will undo this custody thing today."

"But-" His mother was speaking softly as she cut him off. 

"You call this woman right now, I want to meet her. I want to meet the woman who has given me another grandchild."  She was looking at him square in the eyes. "And the woman who has captured my son's heart."

June walked through the hospital doors briskly. The call she had received an hour ago from Franco was very strange but the fact that Dmitri was allowing her to see Zack was all she needed to get to the hospital very quickly. She had informed her family and although they had all demanded to come with her, she felt that she needed to do this alone first. Maybe Dmitri had softened, she highly doubted it but this was a step. She would be with her son again. These past few days had been a living nightmare.

June entered the private wing of the hospital and saw Franco outside a private room. There were two burly looking guards dressed like secret service agents on either side of the door. June realised that she had seen a few of them in the reception area as well. Dmitri had always valued his privacy. She rushed to him.

"Is Zack in there?" she asked. He nodded.

"Is he okay? How is he?" she asked hurriedly so eager to see her son again.

"I will take you in now." Franco knocked on the door and June followed him as he entered the room. It was more of an apartment than a waiting room with sofas and a kitchen and what looked like a bedroom off to the side. Dmitri was standing facing the glass to another room in which there was a nurse and machines, she guessed Zack was in there. She could not see her son. There was an older lady sitting on the two seater sofa.

"Mr Kanaredes, Ms Stapleton has arrived." Franco said before exiting the room.

Dmitri did not turn around but the older lady stood up and came to her.

"Hello my dear, I'm Sofia, Dmitri's mother. You must be June." June extended her hand to the lady in front of her. She was about her height with dark hair and a firm grip. She was beautiful and had striking cheekbones. Her eyes could pierce you and June could see where Dmitri got his gorgeous looks from.

"I'm pleased to meet you." June said looking at Dmitri who still had his back to her. His hands were now in his pockets.

"Sit with me a while dear." June sat with her as the woman held her hands in her own. June was eager to see her son but she did not want to be impolite.

"I know you must be worried for your son and this situation is a bit awkward but my stubborn son over there was wrong in taking the child like he did." Dmitri cleared his throat but said nothing. June looked at her hands held by Dmitri's mother.

"Mrs. Kanaredes-"

"Please call me Sofia, let me finish young lady." This lady was firm. "Look at me, you were also wrong in not telling Dmitri about his son for whatever reason but two wrongs do not make this right." June was stunned. " This is no way for a son to meet his father." June knew that she was wrong, she was still agonising over it.

"I .." she was unsure what to say.

"You two need to be a united force for your son right now. He is sick and until he is better you two need to be strong for him together right now." Sofia von Kanaredes was indeed a resilient woman. She gave June a hug.

"Come on you must be eager to see Zack, we will talk more later." June got up and looked at Dmitri who was now staring at her. His face was blank but she could tell he was still angry with her by the way he held his shoulders. She approached him slowly.

"I'm really sorry for not telling you sooner. I really have no excuse." She said staring at the man in front of her with tears in her eyes. "Thank you for allowing me to see Zack again."

Dmitri said nothing as he stared at her for some time before saying.

"You can go in to see Zack now."

June got suited up and the nurse led her to Zack's bedside. She approached her son who was still in a coma. His small body was still hooked up to a few wires. She touched his face and kissed him through her mask. She then held his tiny hand.

"Oh my little precious one, I missed you. Mummy loves you so much."

Dmitri watched June with their son. There was no doubt that she loved their son. He watched them interact and felt badly about taking Zack away from her. She was tortured and maybe she was punished enough for her mistake.

"She is a mother Dmitri and their bond is strong." His mother commented watching the interaction with him. " You two need to forgive and move on for your son's sake."

A team of doctors were here to give them an update.

"Your son has a rare blood disorder. It appears he got a virus which affected his blood. Although the virus is now under control, the best thing to do is to strengthen the blood cells in his body against such attacks in the future." Dr Lassiter a haematologist was informing them.

"So what is the way forward to do this." Dmitri asked.

Mr Carmichael, the surgeon responded, "We need to have surgery and give him a blood marrow transplant. We hope that the inclusion of familial blood cells from a close family member who has at least 90% match will increase his resistance."

"We need to conduct a compatibility test on close family members to find a suitable donor." Dr Lassiter continued, "Then we will do the surgery, the recovery rate of this procedure is in the region of 60%, since your son is still young the rate is usually 75% for his age group."

"So the first step is for as many family members to do the compatibility test." Dr Lassiter stated.

"How long before you know the results of the tests?" June asked anxiously.

"It usually takes 3 to 5 days for the lab technicians to get the classifications but once it is done the surgery can be performed within a few hours."

"We want it done sooner." Dmitri demanded. The doctors looked at each other.

"Mr. Kanaredes, we want the procedure to be as accurate as possible, we can speed it up but it has to be done properly to ensure we get the best possible match for your son." Mr Carmichael ventured.

"When can we start doing the tests?" June asked eager to begin the process.

"We have already made arrangements for the lab to welcome the family, so the lab technicians will lead you to the lab for the tests to be done."

June waited nervously for the results. Dmitri had gone in first. The procedure was very simple but the wait was gruesome. May was in the test lab at the moment. Both paternal and maternal grandparents had done the test. Dmitri's sister Eva had flown in to do the test as well. She was a female version of Dmitri. She was a bit like April and the two appeared to connect quite well. Eva was married with two daughters. She was an accountant and owned her own firm which she ran with her husband.

The mothers had hit it off well. The two were currently rearranging their lives and June and Dmitri had no say in the matter. Dmitri had barely spoken to her and was speaking more to her family than to her. The team of doctors returned two days later with the compatibility tests results.

"So am I a match Dr. Lassiter?" June asked eagerly.

"I'm sorry Ms. Stapleton but your match is only 60%, we needed a higher match." June crumbled at the news. He father reached out and caught her before she fell. She started to sob.

"Of all the persons who tested Mr Kanaredes is the closest match of 91%, we are quite pleased because anything over 90 % is a positive sign. So we can proceed with the marrow donation as soon as possible."

Dmitri hugged his mother, "Great, I am ready to donate now."

"Dr Conrad, the anaesthesiologist will get his team ready to get your son prepared for the surgery." Dr Lassiter informed them.

"A syringe will be used to remove bone marrow from your hip bones Mr Kanaredes. Although this is not a surgical operation, you will be put under a general anaesthetic to stop you feeling any pain during the procedure." Dmitri was looking very emotional and June wanted to reach out to touch him but she knew he would probably push her away.

"You will usually need to stay in hospital for up to 48 hours to make sure you have recovered fully from the general anaesthetic." Dr Lassiter continued.

The wheels began. Dmitri did not acknowledge her but kissed his son before he left. Her mother came in and hugged her lovingly feeling her anguish.

'It's okay honey, he hurts just like you do, and it will be okay.'

June did not want to leave her son's side so she remained at his bedside until they wheeled him into surgery.

The Dr Lassiter told them that Dmitri's procedure had gone on well but the recovery part was not over yet. Dmitri was still unconscious and Zack was still in surgery with Mr Carmichael.

June went to Dmitri's room. He lay there so handsomely on the bed.

Eva was sitting with him.

"You can come in June, it's all right." June hesitantly entered.

"I'm sorry for interrupting." Eva invited her to sit next to her.

"I know things are a bit tense between you two but my brother has always been stubborn but family means a lot to him so he is just angry but it will wear off. Hang in there." Eva said.

"I hurt him badly Eva, I should not be forgiven, maybe all this is my punishment." June was tearfully this whole situation had tore her down mentally and emotionally.

"June do not blame yourself these things happen, you need to be positive."

"How do you feel about him?" Eva asked her directly. She had always denied what she felt for Dmitri but all the events of these pasts few days had made her reflect on her true feelings.

"I'm not sure, he makes me feel things I have never felt before, when I am with him it is like.... I'm complete, I loved our interactions and I loved to defy him." June said looking at Dmitri laying so serenely on the bed.

"Tell him." Eva encouraged her as she gave her a hug and then left the room. 

She walked over to him, and brushed a lock of hair off his forehead. Like this he was so calm, she touched his cheek lovingly.

'I am so sorry Dmitri for all this, you are right I am to blame for selfishly keeping our son from you.' She paused ' I was so ecstatic when I found out I was pregnant, it was the same day that, I found out who you were, I was so angry, with you then. But I still wanted you so much. I lied to keep you away from me from capturing my heart.' she stopped her voice choking.

 'How could I want someone who had treated me so badly. That day I lied to you about Zack's paternity I will never forget it. I wanted to take the words back then and there but I was too full of pride. When saw you again in the street I hated the look you gave me I wanted you to look at me with love pregnant with your child but I ruined it.'

She touched his nose, which was so much like Zack's.

'Zack is so much like you, he has your nose, your hair even your temper' she laughed softly.

'He enjoys food like you do, I think he is going to be wonderful cook.' she was smiling through her tears. She loved this man, she had never stopped. she traced his jawline loving the touch of his skin.

'He even has the birthmark on his bum like you, I am so sorry for keeping you from him I would like you to love him as I do and to play with him, I will never keep him from you again.'

She held his hand, "I promise you that if we survive this I will not keep you from him, ever. He deserves to have you in his life." 

His hands twitched slightly; she froze, she didn't want him awake just yet. She was not sure if she could face him just yet. she was admitting her feelings for the first time and this was very new to her.

After a second he made no more movement she calmed, 

'Zack should be finished now I will go and check on him, I never stopped loving you Dmitri, I don't think I ever will.' she kissed him lightly on his mouth.